Running Shorts

Inspired by all those YouTube videos, I brainstormed some things on the run today... ...It's just an easy 10. ...I swear to God, if someone quote Forrest Gump one more time... ...That's miles, not minutes. ...The trainers said I should take time off, but what do they know? ...Minimalism is for people who don't want to run actual mileage. ...[judging] What a rec runner. ...I could totally kick his ass. Well in a race, maybe not a fight. ...Kara Goucher...dayum. ...This wind blows. ...Jack Daniels? You mean the running formula? ...Have you read Once a Runner ? ...It's like that one part in Once a Runner. ...You mean you haven't read Once a Runner !? ...You gotta read Once a Runner . And then pick up Again to Carthage . ...Quit staring at my legs, perv. ...Why do cars hate us all? ...A waffle...like the Nike or the Eggo? ...Technically it's not trespassing if we don't get caught. ...You don't seriously expect me to wea...

 Drackett Fields in Terrace Park  Behind a park of soccer/baseball fields and semi-parallelling the Little Miami Bike Path is a bird sanctuary with these nice wide grass and gravel paths. There usually aren't too many people out here, so it's a nice change of scenery from the boring paved bike path. And to boot, it's less than 4 miles from my house, so I'm out here all the time.

This from Urban Dictionary: Bonk: [bongk] v - Expression used by cyclists to describe exercise induced low blood sugar levels; being a feeling of light-headedness and weakness in all limbs. Similar to "The Wall" in running. I bonked earlier this week. You know when it was like 90 degrees out in March? Yeah, that's when. I was doing hill repeats, and was already feeling bad before I even started. By the time I finished, I was feeling awful. I should have had the common sense to jog the mile back to my house and call it a day. But I didn't. I thought it was more important to get in my goal mileage for the day. So I tacked on 6 more miles of cooldown. Dumb, dumb mistake. I shuffled through the cooldown and then was too exhausted to eat anything after (another dumb mistake). The problem is, a run like that is not without consequences: for next three days, my energy levels were still wrecked. Recovery from that has been a bitch. While I did get in my mileage...

So this weekend was the first race of the season, so to speak. The Heart Mini Marathon 15K (15K is 9.3 miles, if that makes the distance any less confusing). I finished 3rd in 48:39, or about 5:13/14 pace per mile. Well...meh. Coulda been better, coulda been worse. There are a lot of "coulda beens" with this one. I definitely was hoping to run faster than that, maybe more like 5:10 pace. And I let the leaders get away with about 4 miles to go, which was not a good strategic move. On the other hand, I think this was an accurate indicator of the shape I'm in based on the workouts I've been doing. In fact, the race was a good tempo-type workout. After all, that's what these races are: workouts. It was definitely not an easy course. It starts out about a block east of Fountain Square downtown, then simply goes out-and-back east on Columbia Parkway for 4.5 miles. The .3 of the 9.3 miles gets added on with a quick up-and-down of Torrance St. hill. Honestly, it...

The vernal equinox is not until March 20th.  (Boom. How's that for dropping some science knowledge on here?) What the means: for another week, it's still winter.  Spring does not officially start until that date.  Who told Mother Nature that it's summer already? But seriously, out running this afternoon I saw thermometers that read 81 degrees.  Really!?  I am not ready for this.  And hopefully this hot weather does not carry on to the marathon, because that would be brutal. I mean, I shouldn't complain about nice weather, but I would like some spring please.

Hey all, Check out some of the new pages I've been adding slash plan to add. I just did an "About Me" (and you thought you knew everything already...) and also plan to edit/add some more. Look for the finished 50 States Song Challenge and new Saucony Hurricanes and Rave Run pages in the (hopefully) near future.

I ran 21 on Saturday. I was gone for over two and a half hours. That's a long time. Actually I combined it with a workout, doing 3 by 2-mile at 5:04 pace in the beginning and then a 5k at 5:12 pace at the end. Mostly I was just trying to get the legs used to running fast (ish) while tired, and I was really pumped to be able to finish strong. I did a similar workout last fall and crashed and burned...not unlike the marathon itself. The weird thing about the marathon is that nutrition is so much more important than any other race. By nutrition I mean not so much overall diet (one of my favorite quotes from Once A Runner : "If the fire is hot enough, anything will burn; even Big Macs"), but rather pre-run and during-run (is that a word? Let's go with it...) nutrition. I can't just roll out of bed and run; the race and workouts are long enough that I need to load up on simple energy before and replenish during. I think that's one of the biggest adjustments to ...

If you know anything about distance runners, then you know we're pretty crazy...especially when it comes to running in different types of weather. I've run in single digits, 30 degrees and pouring rain, thunderstorms; I even once did a 21 miler in the afternoon on one of the hottest days of the year. But I don't run when there are tornadoes coming. I mean, in all likelihood there wouldn't be a tornado when I'm out running. That said, I think we did get reports of tornadoes touching down around northern Kentucky for the storm this afternoon. I figure you gotta draw the line somewhere...the line between being young and reckless and being dead (that a little exaggeration, of course). For me, that line is a tornado warning. Where is it for you?